AND A. I. ULYANOVA-ELIZAROVA

21/XII. 97.

I received your letter of the 5th of December three days ago, dear mama. I am very, very glad that there is hope for clearing up the situation with Mitya. In any case, it is obvious that there is to a considerable degree a misunderstanding here, and that there can be no talk of anything serious.

Which parcel from the 16th of November are you asking whether I received? In general, if it is possible to send something to Minusinsk, then you should address it directly to me, since all my letters go through the Minusinsk post office anyway — I have given a power of attorney to our postman for receiving my correspondence.

I have somehow gotten confused in all these numerous parcels, which either were sent to me or were supposed to be sent. Did you send anything else to Krasnoyarsk through Popova? I think not, but in any case I shall ask one acquaintance (from Minusinsk) who is leaving there one of these days to make inquiries about it*.

There is no rush with the books. I have so many of them as it is that I cannot manage them.

Your V. U.

To Manyasha

I received your postcard of the 2nd of December and 2 books by Semenov. Merci for them. I shall send them back soon, no later than within a week (on Wednesday the 24th I am afraid our postman will not go out at all).

It turned out that precisely in the first two volumes there is nothing interesting. Of course, such things are inevitable when ordering unfamiliar books — and I was prepared for this beforehand.

I hope we shall not have to pay a fine in any case: they will re-register them for another month.

I did not understand your phrase: "In order to gain access to the law library, I asked Kablukov — one must be a lawyer and present a recommendation from 2 members of the law society"? Only that? One does not need to be a member of the society oneself? I shall try to obtain a recommendation for myself through Petersburg.

That one can become a member of the society and not be a lawyer is beyond doubt.

I shake your hand. V. U.

To Anyuta

Merci for your letter of the 5th/XII and for the list. You labored in vain, recopying it a second time. In general, I must have expressed myself inexactly about the account: of course, I was interested only in the general + or -, and not in those details which cost you considerable effort and which are of no use to me anyway*.

It is strange that the journal office does not send any accounts either. I shall soon send them something else64. I must add a short note to them (when sending the manuscript) asking them to send accounts for honorariums and expenditures on journals, etc. Otherwise it seems I have been reckless, not knowing precisely what I possess.

Some misunderstanding has apparently arisen between us also because of my question about whence